Easier - Character is
the combination of personal qualities that make each
person unique. Teachers, parents, and community
members help children build positive character
qualities. For example, the six pillars of character
are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility,
fairness, caring, and citizenship.

Ethics is the study of human actions. It deals
with issues such as defining "right and wrong" as well
as the gray area in between. Ethics seeks answers to
questions like what is "good behavior" and what should
be valued?

Harder - Character
deals with how people think and behave related to
issues such as right and wrong, justice and equity,
and other areas of human conduct.

Schools often have character education programs
that focus on the qualities of character that are
honored by most cultures and traditions. Character
education is the development of knowledge, skills, and
abilities that encourage children and young adults to
make informed and responsible choices.

Ethics are a philosophical reflection of moral
beliefs and practices. The Greek and Roman
philosophers were particularly interested in
discussions related to ethics. Religions and faiths
each have their own ethical systems to guide their
people. Ethical decision making involves the process
of making informed decisions when faced with difficult
dilemmas with many alternative solutions.

Learn to fortify young people's lives with
consensus ethical values called the "Six Pillars of
Character." These values, which transcend divisions of
race, creed, politics, gender and wealth, are
trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness,
caring and citizenship. This website contains links to
schools that are doing projects related to Character
Education.

This website contains a number of interesting
projects for students. Each month a new ethnical
dilemma is provided for discussion. The past dilemmas
are archived and include topics such as business,
education, family, medical, philanthropic, personal,
and military. The "Picturing Tomorrow's World" project
for children combines ethics and art. You can also
vote at the moral barometer poll.

This website celebrates real-world, everyday
heroes who have "stuck their necks out" for others. It
also fosters active citizenship in children. The
website contains hero stories, as well as ideas for
becoming an active citizen.

Create a Name Poem. Create a
name poem using a word related to ethics
and character such as integrity, trust, or
courage.

Choose a Star. Explore the
Become
a Brilliant Star activity on role
models. Choose a famous person. Do you
think they are a good role model? Why or
why not? Use the 42eXplore:Biography
page for links to more famous people.

Keep a Character Journal. Start
your journal with a personal mission
statement. Write about how you're striving
to be a person of good character. Each day
write about something you did that
reflected one of the six pillars of
character.

Start with a Quote. Use the
Quote
Unquote and Character
Above All pages to identify an
interesting quote. Write a paragraph about
what the quote means to you. Share the
quote with someone special. Select a quote
that reflects how you feel about a friend
or hero.

Write a Song. Create and
perform a song about the importance of
good character. Try to tell a story in
your song. Videotape your song and send it
to another class.

Be a Good Sport. What is
sportsmanship? Write a skit about
sportsmanship in a particular sport. Use
the Sportsmanship
Links for ideas.

Discuss a Dilemma. Read the
article The
Making of an Ethical Decision. Go to
the Ethical
Dilemmas website. Read the current
dilemma or search for past dilemmas.
Discuss how you would react in the
situation. Compare your ideas with others
through an online discussion.

Ethics Through History. People
throughout history
have been interested in ethics. Select a
person in history and compare their
philosophies to others. People include
Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, Marcus
Aurelius, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas,
Montaigne, Thomas Hobbes, Baruch Spinoza,
Thomas Locke, David Hume, John Stuart
Mill, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Bjorn
Kant.

Build "A Person of Character"
Bulletin Board. Go to A
Person of Character page. Use these
five statements as the beginning of a
bulletin board. Everyone can add a card
with their favorite character statement or
quotation.
You could also create a Do's
and Don'ts of Character bulletin
board.

Defend a Rule. Read the
Models
for Ethical Decision Making. Learn
more about The Golden Rule, Kant's
Categorical Imperatives, and
Consequentialism/Utilitarianism. Choose
one to defend.

Stop the Rationalizations.
Rationalizations can inhibit ethical
decision making. Read about Common
Rationalizations. Choose a
rationalization you've heard before. Write
about why a person might use this
rationalization and how they might be
convinced not to use it.

Complete a Ethics and Character
WebQuest. Explore one of the webquests
below:

Ethics reflect the values of a society and what
its members judge to be right or wrong. This site
explores what constitutes ethical behavior with a
revealing questionnaire, literary examples, material
on well-known persons who have influenced the stream
of ethics.

This site challenges us to analyze our beliefs and
values, and to take action to make our world a better
place. Visitors can learn about lots of areas in which
to volunteer time: the areas of environment and
wildlife conservation; helping people with
disabilities or depression; educating others about
animal rights and vegetarianism; and helping alleviate
poverty.

This website supports discussions and activities
to help teens deal with relationships, friendships,
and other issues. Based on the book, the website
contains contests, stories, poetry, and
discussions.

This website recognizes excellent character
education programs and resources. It also states 11
principles of character education programs. They give
annual awards to schools involved with character
education.